How'd you like to live in this house? What's the problem? You've got a foundation and a frame. The house is 90% built. But it won't keep out the rain, the wind, or burglars.
Similarly, with "Character Camp", we've laid the foundation and the framework of how our kids need to behave so that they can succeed socially, spiritually, physically, and economically. But the rain can still pour in until we add the drywall and the roof.
The day that the kids graduated from "Character Camp", I took them Go-Kart riding and Mini-Golfing to reward them for taking "Character Camp" seriously. The behavior of our oldest child at these events was pretty bad. Does this mean that our "Character Camp" was a failure? Or does it just mean that a foundation and a frame is not enough to make a home?
I think we can be grateful for this: "Character Camp" gave us common terminology, principles, and goals. But the house will still leak if it doesn't have walls and a roof. Similarly, it's no surprise that our kids are still doing things that make us mad. We have the principles and the language we can use to talk to them abotu what they do. But it's going to take time and effort before they develop behaviors that keep the rain out of the "house" and keep the burglers at bay.
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